Not Gwyneth Paltrow's head.
The correct answer, was nothing.
Normally, I am pretty unprepared for Christmas, yet this year I found something for my wife that I think she will like and it is only bloody October. It is something that she might want to use earlier though, so perhaps I will give it to her prior. Well, would have given it to her prior...
Because despite getting the delivery notice that it was waiting at a pick-up point, when I opened the door using the app, the box was empty. This is the first time it has happened, but it is something I have always been concerned about with all of the apps and bluetooth and whatever else they use to facilitate the process. This particular box is also outside a shopping centre. But my biggest concern isn't about it being stolen, it is about me not being believed that it was stolen, or missing at all. Though, I guess they have a camera set up to view the boxes anyway.
For this particular thing though, I was more worried about not getting it, because I bought it during a sale and got it for a very good price. I have been looking for one that was "cheap enough" to warrant buying it, because it isn't a necessary item for my wife or us at all, and it is pretty useless. But, I think my wife will appreciate it still. I can't say what it is now, just in case on the off chance my wife decides to read this post - though I don't think she reads many of them.
So, in order to get this sorted out, I had to make a charged phone call to the company who has lost the order, wait on hold, and then give all the details for identity and then the parcel and then the "get back to you" nonsense. This was yesterday. Today, after still not hearing anything back, I went through the process again, getting charged for the call while I waited to talk to someone, go through the identification process again and then, find out that it will be delivered sometime this week.
That is a relief.
But, while more convenient in so many ways, it definitely pushes into my dislike for the growing disconnection from human contact. While I agree that a lot of the jobs we do in the supply chain are pretty much busywork in terms of human advancement, the value of people working together and interacting throughout the supply chain has human value, because talking with people directly is a big part of our wellbeing matrix. This has been tested over and over with people, and even decades ago there were studies about the elderly going into supermarkets just to talk for a minute to the cashier.
Now with all of the apps, people hardly have to talk to anyone outside their household, and their household is less likely to have anyone in it too. More people are living alone than ever before, with the majority of their interaction with the outside world, being through a screen. Food is ordered through an app, delivered by a robot at times, or someone with a massive bag on their back who you aren't "meant" to talk to, and eaten in front of a screen. People order their groceries online and have them delivered or picked up from a box, like their post. And everyone is behind a screen and earbuds on the bus, at the gym, or in the park.
Everyone is faceless.
I get that a lot of people get anxious around others, but would they have anxiety if they had normal exposure? Some yes, but I suspect far fewer. Instead, we are conditioning people into having social disorders by creating environments that allow and even encourage them to avoid social interactions. Rather than getting better at dealing with people, they can get better at avoiding people altogether, and this is of course going to impact on society as a whole, in many diverse and highly impactful ways - from loneliness to violent crime.
We are affected.
Or is it, infected?
In August, Finland introduced a ban of smartphone usage by kids at school during school times and in locations near schools, data usage has dropped by around twenty percent and in some areas, as much as seventy percent. That is an enormous drop-off even at the 20 percent range, but the large discrepancies can be explained that some schools already had stricter rules around phone usage prior to the law change and when the comparison testing was done. But, what will really be interesting with it in the future is if it has an effect on children's behaviour in the schools. Will they interact more, will they concentrate more, will they build better social circles, will they be as anxious or lonely? Or will they get even worse, as they have nothing "fun" to occupy their attention.
From the moment we are conceived, we start developing, and after birth our brains go through a rapid growth period that essentially sets a lot of our wiring for the future and makes it very hard to affect later. Out of convenience, many parents sat their kids down in front of televisions to babysit, but with the advent of mobile screens, the babysitter screen is ever-present and is used to entertain a child, when they would have earlier been interacting with the world, with their parents, with their siblings. From very young ages, children are getting conditioned to be antisocial, and it becomes part of their personality.
My grandad used to call the TV the "idiot box" because even then in the 80s, it was clear that the people who spent a lot of time consuming that content, were becoming idiots. Less skilled, less creative, less interactive, less social. Nowadays, people are fighting for their right to be idiots, where they defend their overconsumption behaviours in everything, from watching too much, to eating too much, to being too emotionally reactive. It is like people want to be victims of their world, without recognising that they are victimizing themselves.
We are the perpetrators of our own destruction.
Technological convenience is a challenge though, because there is value in having some automation and ease of use in various areas. However, the problem arises when that convenience starts to impact on our abilities to cope in the world, lowering our wellbeing in the process. To build the skills that support wellbeing at the individual and the societal level, we need to develop interactive skills, where humans engage well with humans, yet we are going in the opposite direction.
I feel it in me too.
I am pretty good socially, but I have also become worse at it as I have engaged more with screens, streaming content and interacted with people doing the same. As a whole, I would still be considered comparatively good in social situations, but that is like comparing two ill people to each other - they are both still ill. Personally, I am going to spend more time getting more "personal" and working with intention on improving my social abilities. There is no direct payoff to do so, other than I hope it will impact on my own wellbeing, and that of the people I interact with. There is likely to other values to be found through social engagement too, but that isn't the point.
I don't want to live a disconnected life, surrounded by people who have social anxiety and are unable to hold a conversation that makes them uncomfortable. I want to have a rich social environment, where people are able to discuss and interact and have conversations that matter, rather than avoiding them because it is more convenient.
It is up to each of us.
No one need do anything different than they are now. They can do exactly what they want to do, what they are conditioned to do. But, when the box is empty, whose problem is it?
Taraz
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Your experience brings to my mind something which bothered me quite a bit yesterday evening.
While going over X (former twitter) I stumbled upon this publication
I started thinking, why if someone hacks the behavior of the robot to go against their colegues at work?
I suspect it would be an excuse to get rid of human colleagues.
You know I took a really deep dive into that whole thing a while ago trying to figure out how harsh of a penalty Brad Pitt would really get for ending things the way he did. Sure, they had to arrest him, but given the conditions, I have a feeling the judge and jury would likely be pretty lenient on him. He might never be a cop again, but I doubt he would spend much time if any in prison. We simply have stuff delivered to our doorstep and while I often worry about things getting walked off with, our neighbors do a good job of keeping an eye out and we also have a camera. The former involves staying in direct contact with humans, but even that is kind of sliding. I understand what you are saying.
I missed the Brad Pitt reference, what did he do?
There used to be neighborhood watch, now it is watch out for your neighbours. I am not sure how many true neighborhoods are left now, since people barely interact in many areas. Neighbours can be annoying, but it also adds a kind of colour to life.
Have you seen the movie? I don't want to ruin it for you, but you made the reference. Actually, now with all the connected devices out there they have online communities where people post about strange things in your area. Like suspicious people etc, but it's mostly missing or found dogs and cats...
Nope, I haven't seen the movie I think. The reference night have been accidental! Which movie?
Se7en. You mentioned Gwyneth Paltrow's head in a box, so I just assumed.
Ah! Of course. I thought there was another reference in there. Silly me. I am doughy sometimes (often) :D
No worries! I totally understand, and you have a better excuse than me!
Undoubtedly, current social dynamics, technological dependence, and the limited time available as a family, undermine a healthy state in all aspects, from the personal to the social.
From autism induced by screen exposure and limited social contact with peers during childhood, to the inability to socialize functionally and therefore prone to antisocial behavior, these are phenomena that impact today's daily life.
Everything must be intertwined. For example, schools are doing very well in limiting the use of technological screens. But when these children leave school, what happens? Do their families consistently contribute to school policies?
I don't think it is inducing autism, but I do think it is making behaviours similar to autism. It is a important differentiation, because they are diagnosing and treating autism, when kids don't have it. They just have similar conditioned behaviours.
I expect not, because it is easier for most parents to sit their kid on a screen, while they themselves are on a screen.
I once got a completely empty box shipped to my house from Amazon. I was a little concerned, but didn't even call, they resolved it in app...
Do you worry at all about your children's future in q world there they haven't had much experience with other humans? I feel it makes us more gullible.
I think technology can make us feel alone even if it links us in different ways. I agree that encouraging genuine conversations is essential for our health, particularly in a world that is becoming more digital.
More phone calls instead of text messages would even make a difference.
As a husband, anticipating the things his wife will need and giving them to her is one of the expressions of love.
Some see it that way. I think it is good when a couple knows how to buy for the other person. Too many don't these days
Today, there are many ways to get food orders delivered to your home in a very short time using apps. The two most famous apps in our country are pickme and ubereats. Although it seems profitable because they only charge a low shipping fee, there are many cases where the food is not delivered when ordering online. Also, although other items can be received within two days through the online courier service, there is a certain risk because you have to pay before checking the parcel. A friend of mine bought an aluminum container for $ 15 and it was broken into pieces. Therefore, when ordering food or goods through apps and online, there can be both profits and losses.
In general here, it is Al pretty reliable, but it is getting less o over time, because whole the apps are getting better, the people involved are getting worse. This seems to happen in every industry.
So far each time I ordered something I got it. I don't even imagine how in your situation I would have to prove that I did not get the delivery. If it is possible I order things to be delivered to home but few times I had to pick my order from delivery box as well. First time I was entering the right numbers but nothing was happening. Only after a while did I figure that I had to touch the screen first.
Sone of the apps and screens are not very intuitively designed.
This reminds of a moment when I was still in college, I was always a concern person on tech skills, always on screen 24/7 thinking I as brutally building up and sharpening my tech skill, totally forgetting there's another part of "exposure" I needed to get use to, not until a faithful day of presentation I found out that if I would have associated with some like minds colleagues there's a particular system of approach I would have been taught that wasn't found on the internet. advancement of technology shouldn't make us forget vital information that matters ( learning tech but blindly) creates a disconnected life pattern. Socialize much instead while improving yourself on tech (AI). @tarazkp
Do you think you have found a better balance now?
I would say yes, to my personality, but the advancement of technology devices doesn't look like what is ending, my view is just it shouldn't be of total control on human mentality
This is a serious situation. What do you think can be the solution to this? I think it keeps getting worser. Maybe the government should enforce some restrictions or there should be more exposure and education.
The whole world needs to change.
This is human nature. Laziness means staying within your comfort zone and minimizing energy consumption.
Just think about it. You can order food from your bare bed with a few clicks. On the other hand, you get dressed to go to a restaurant. If you don't have a car and the restaurant is far away, you take public transportation. There, you have to interact with waiters and the cashier you don't even know.
Which is more comfortable? Of course, the first option. Which is more beneficial in the long run? The second option. The people who make a difference today are those who choose the second option. They defy laziness, step outside their comfort zone, and connect with people as much as possible.
That’s really understandable — it’s unsettling when technology fails in a way that affects your trust. Hopefully, the cameras or system logs help clear things up quickly.
People are losing the art of personal communication with a real live human being. All my business deals are done on a one to one personal level and what gives me the edge because I am very open and will make a deal if it is in both parties interest which can be haggled out. Many people these days have no clue who they are dealing with and many avoid personal contact.
I look forward to your post when we discover it hasn't been delivered. :P
The level of data drop is significant. Telecommunications companies would be loving the increased margins on their services (though data doesn't really cost that much to deliver) - and we had similar bans in South Australia, too.
If there could be more serious consequences to those who use their phone while driving, I feel like that would make my corner of the world a nicer place. Unless, of course, they're the very delivery drivers trying to bring you the stuff you ordered, and are doing it properly.
The parcel I sent away for Mother's day, back in May, arrived to its recipient last week. Australia post is FANTASTIC. (And this was within the same country!)